Get Great Pictures With Santa Every Time

If you are like me, getting your kids picture taken with Santa is no day at the park. The mall is hot and overcrowded and everyone is low on patience, especially the kids. Despite this, you wait on line hoping for a memorable picture with Santa but you wind up with a crying child and Santa with a wet lap. What to do? If you don’t want your kids looking like the ones in the video below then try the following tips for great pictures with Santa:

Expose them to Santa at the earliest age possible. Show them pictures and teaching them how Santa says, “Ho Ho Ho in a deep, loud voice so they know what to expect.

Tell them Santa is kind and loves them. He’s big and silly just like grandpa or Uncle Bob but he wears a Santa Suit.

Never bribe or frighten your child into sitting on his lap by saying things like “You won’t get any presents if you don’t tell Santa what you want.” That’s mean, bad parent and shame on you! Never, ever force them to do it, even if you’ve waited on line for hours. Also, start every year fresh; don’t remind them of last year’s disaster.

At the mall, have snacks, drinks, and toys ready to occupy and distract the kids from the long line.

Bring a change of clothes or costume in case of any accidents while waiting.

Bring your own camera. Start snapping the second butt hits lap. The photographer usually waits until after the child tells Santa what they want to shoot the picture and by then it might be too late.

When possible, bring a helper. One of you can make silly faces or distract the child while the other one shoots pictures with the digital camera. Remember, digital images can be fixed in Photoshop. It may not be a 100% true representation of the day but oh well, you’ll have a picture worthy of display.

If all else fails and your child cries at the site of Santa, then head over to the portrait studio to get a studio shot of them in their Christmas finery. Try again with Santa next year.